Luton railway station
3.144 | usage0607 = 3.354 | usage0708 = 3.548 | usage0809 = 3.437 | usage0910 = 3.187 | usage1011 = 3.261 | usage1112 = 3.440 | usage1213 = | platforms = 5 | start = | gridref = TL092216 }} Luton railway station is located in Luton, Bedfordshire, England. The station is near to the town centre, about three minutes' walk from the Arndale Shopping Centre. It is situated on the Midland Main Line and is operated by First Capital Connect. History It was built by the Midland Railway in 1868 on its extension to St. Pancras. For some years it was known as Luton Midland Road to distinguish it from the earlier Luton Bute Street, built in 1858 on the GNR line from Hertford North to Leighton Buzzard. To build the line a public area known as the "Great Moor" had to be built through. The remainder of the land was bought for development by John Crawley, who provided a replacement in what is known as the "People's Park." This proved a worthwhile investment because, as the town's staple trade in straw hats diminished as they went out of fashion, it was replaced by engineering works. By the beginning of the twentieth century, the population had nearly trebled and the station had become an important stop for main line expresses. The station, consisting of only 3 platforms was rebuilt in 1937 and saw an additional fourth platform added in 1960; upon electrification in the early 1980s a fifth platform was added for the suburban services to and from St. Pancras.Radford, B., (1983) Midland Line Memories: a Pictorial History of the Midland Railway Main Line Between London (St Pancras) & Derby London: Bloomsbury Books London, Midland and Scottish Railway Until the line through Buxton was closed in the Beeching era, the 'main lines' were those from London to Manchester, carrying named expresses such as The Palatine. Express trains to Leeds and Scotland such as the Thames-Clyde Express tended to use the Erewash Valley Line then onto the Settle and Carlisle Line. Expresses to Edinburgh, such as The Waverley travelled through Corby and Nottingham. Privatisation Upon the opening of Eurostar at St. Pancras International, through-fares to continental Europe were made available from Luton and 67 other UK towns and cities to Paris, Brussels and other destinations in France and Belgium. The station is set for significant investment from both Network Rail and First Group to improve facilities for customers as well as creating longer platforms as part of the Thameslink Programme. In 2009 the station was identified as one of the ten worst category B interchange stations for mystery shopper assessment of fabric and environment, and is set to receive a share of £50 million funding for improvements. During 2010 and 2011 a number of improvements took place at the station, these included extensions to all five platforms (including removing the barrow crossing) and a new footbridge. The platform extensions form part of the Thameslink Programme and allow 12 car operation at the station. During these works two new rail overbridges were installed over Old Bedford Road allowing the track to be slewed for the extended platforms. Services Luton station is served by First Capital Connect and East Midlands Trains trains. From Luton, trains go north to Bedford, Wellingborough, Kettering, Market Harborough, Leicester, Loughborough, Nottingham, and Sheffield amongst others. Southbound trains go to Luton Airport Parkway, St Albans, London, Gatwick Airport, Brighton, Streatham, Wimbledon and Sutton. The typical off peak service from this station is as follows: *4 trains per hour (tph) to Bedford (operated by First Capital Connect) *4 tph to Brighton via Luton Airport Parkway, St Albans, London and Gatwick Airport (First Capital Connect) *2 tph to Sutton via Luton Airport Parkway, St Albans, London and Wimbledon (First Capital Connect) *1 tph to Corby via Bedford, Wellingborough, and Kettering. (East Midlands Trains) *1 tph to London St Pancras International (East Midlands Trains) *During the peaks First Capital Connect run services to Kent via central London jointly operated with Southeastern. *East Midlands Trains InterCity services from Leeds, Sheffield and Derby run through at high speed, but do not always stop. Interchange with InterCity services can be made at Leicester and St Pancras. *1 bus per hour to Milton Keynes Central operated by Stagecoach in Bedford on behalf of Virgin Trains (VT99). This starts at Luton Airport and only calls at a limited number of express bus stops on route. *1 bus per hour to Luton Airport forming the return portion of the above First Capital Connect trains serve several stations in Central London, including Farringdon and Blackfriars. There was previously a shuttle bus service from the station to nearby London Luton Airport. However, this ceased following the construction of Luton Airport Parkway station, though there is the Virgin trains hourly coach service. Facilities Luton station has the following facilities: *2 waiting rooms *Newsagent *Cafe *Telephones *ATM *Ticket barriers *FastTicket machine *Toilets *Car Park with 669 spaces *The station has a PlusBus scheme where train and bus tickets can be bought together for a cheaper price. It is in the same area as Luton Parkway and Leagrave stations. Service patterns 1955 accident On 22 December 1955, two passenger trains collided at Luton station. One passenger was killed, and 23 injured. The first train, a local service from St Pancras to Leicester, had been given the "right-away" from Luton and started to leave the station, but came to a halt when some late passengers attempted to board. As the train was clear of the Home signal, the signalman accepted the second train, an express from St Pancras to Derby. The signals were left at "Danger", so the Derby train should have stopped at the Home signal until the Leicester train had left the station. However, the driver of the Derby train failed to observe the Distant signal, and only made an emergency brake application when he saw the Home signal at danger, from a distance of approximately 400 yards. He was unable to stop the train in time, and it collided with the stationary Leicester train. The rear two coaches of the Leicester train telescoped into each other, causing the majority of casualties. The official enquiry held the driver of the Derby train responsible for the collision, but also noted that the lights from the nearby Vauxhall factory obscured the view of the Distant signal. The lighting was reorganised following the accident. 7 July 2005 London bombings On the day of the bombings, the four suicide bombers were seen on CCTV entering the station. References External links Category:Buildings and structures in Luton Category:Railway stations in Bedfordshire Category:Former Midland Railway stations Category:Railway stations opened in 1868 Category:Railway stations served by East Midlands Trains Category:Railway stations served by First Capital Connect Category:DfT Category B stations Category:Transport in Luton/Dunstable Urban Area